Automobile Accidents

July 6, 2009

Seattle Fatal Bike Accident on Highway 99

According to KOMOnews.com, a 35-year-old Seattle man was killed Wednesday night in a bicycle accident in Seattle on Highway 99.

Apparently, the bicyclist collided with a car a little after 10pm in the southbound lanes of Highway 99 near the Dexter Avenue exit. The driver of the car is suspected of driving under the influence at the time of the accident and was taken to the hospital with injuries.

If it is determined that the driver was in fact under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the accident, he or she could be charged with Vehicular Homicide, RCW 46.61.520. This Washington State statute provides that if a person succumbs to injuries as a result of negligent operation of a motor vehicle, the driver can be charged.

Additionally, the family of the person killed as a result of vehicular homicide can bring a suit for Seattle wrongful death against the person charged with vehicular homicide.
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June 26, 2009

Thurston County Hit and Run Accident Leaves Boy Seriously Injured

By Kirk Bernard

Tuesday night in Thurston County, a 5-year-old boy was badly hurt in a hit-and-run accident. The boy sustained serious facial injuries and was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

According to troopers, the boy was in a car that rolled across Yelm Highway. They believe that the car was either hit or cut off by another vehicle. The car ended up running through the fence of a golf course.

The suspect, who had two dogs in his car according to the police, kept driving after the Washington car accident. He was later found at a veterinarian’s office, where he was taken into custody.

An adult and another child in the vehicle that rolled were taken to local hospitals.
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June 15, 2009

Tests Show Higher Risk for Small Cars in Crashes

By Kirk Bernard

The website latimes.com reported in an article on April 14, 2009 that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has recently published the results of a series of crash tests. The Institute crashed a Honda Fit into a Honda Accord, a Smart ForTwo into a Mercedes C-Class, and a Toyota Yaris into a Toyota Camry each at 40 miles per hour. Test results showed that small cars may be more efficient but your safety is definitely compromised. The vehicles were tested in “offset” crashes in which the cars do not crash head on; instead, the collisions are made to simulate the type of collision that would occur during an auto accident if a car had veered over the center line where the damage can easily break into the passenger compartment. The institute believes that the cars sustained enough damage that their occupants would also have suffered moderate to serious injuries.

Adrian Lund, president of the Arlington, Virginia based institute said, “Though much safer than they were a few years ago, minicars as a group do a comparatively poor job of protecting people in crashes, simply because they’re smaller and lighter. In collisions with bigger vehicles, the forces acting on the smaller ones are higher, and there’s less distance from the front of a small car to the occupant compartment to ‘ride down’ the impact. These and other factors increase injury likelihood.”

Dave Schembri, president of Smart’s U.S. operations said the tests were an example of “rare and extreme” accidents. The Smart ForTwo meets or exceeds all U.S. government crash-test standards. The other manufactures released similar statements.

June 2, 2009

Multiple Seattle Car Crashes on I-5 Results in Injuries

By Kirk Bernard

Tuesday morning during rush hour, a multiple vehicle crash occurred on southbound Interstate 5 at Northgate. Apparently, this crash led to a second, more serious crash in the northbound lanes when a motorcyclist struck an ambulance.

At Bernard Law Group, we handle personal injury lawsuits that are the results of auto accidents in Washington State every day. Call our attorneys at 1-800-418-8282. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

According to SeattleTimes.com, a motorcyclist, riding north on Interstate 5 near Northgate this morning apparently became distracted by the commotion on the other side of the freeway as emergency workers dealt with the aftermath of three, near-simultaneous collisions that blocked southbound lanes for nearly two hours.

May 29, 2009

Washington School Bus Accident at Railroad Crossing

By Kirk Bernard

The website wsp.wa.gov reported in a story on April 28, 2009 that a Battle Ground School Bus was rear ended on SR-503, just north of N.E. 149th Street while stopped at a railroad crossing. According to the Washington State Police, the driver of the bus, Nina Millard, 39 of Battle Ground, had stopped at the railroad crossing to clear it when a 2008 VW Jetta, driven by Jace Delgado, 22, also from Battle Ground, struck her from behind blocking both northbound lanes. Both drivers were wearing their seatbelts and were not seriously injured.

Delgado claims to have been following an SUV that made a lane change to the left at which point Delgado noticed the bus with its stop paddle deployed when he attempted to swerve to avoid a collision. Unsuccessful in his attempt he hit the bus and Delgados’s Jetta ended up partially underneath the bus.

An investigation by the Washington State Patrol concluded that Delgado was traveling at an excessive speed and it’s fortunate that no personal injury in Washington was suffered by anyone in this incident.

May 28, 2009

Washington Car Hit by Truck’s Fallen Load

By Kirk Bernard

The website komonews.com reported in a story on April 20, 2009 that Chrissy Gombos of Kirkland called the authorities to report a near death experience in Skagit County, Washington. Gombos claims that a piece of debris came off the back of a truck on Interstate 5 which thankfully struck her cars’ under carriage and not the windshield.

Gombos said, “All of the sudden, out of nowhere within a split second, I saw a large chunk of something that didn’t really have a shape come off a generic delivery truck in front of us.”

It is still unclear what struck Gombos’ Ford Focus but it was rocked as if it had hit a bomb. The debris punctured the gas tank, and bent a front axle. She believes that the driver of the truck never knew what happened and kept driving.

May 27, 2009

Everett Teen Killed on I-5: Family Warns Others

By Kirk Bernard

The website king5.com reported in an article on April 14, 2009 that the family of fifteen year old Haley Salvador wants to alert people, especially teens, not to cross Interstate 5. According to reports, Salvador had taken the shortcut countless times but the last time would prove to be a deadly one.

Niky Griffin and Daniel Leatherman accompanied their good friend Salvador the night of the dreadful pedestrian accident in Washington. They say that they went across the first time safely but on the way back Salvador took the wrong shortcut and actually cut across I-5 instead of going up the on ramp.

Griffin said, “You have to make sure cars aren’t going too fast that they could hit you. She didn’t go up the onramp. She went down it and across the freeway, which she wasn’t supposed to do. I don’t know why she went that way.”

Salvador is not the first to cross the I-5 at this juncture and will most likely not be the last. According to teens, the shortcut lessens their trip to Everett Mall by 20 minutes. With no pedestrian bridge, the shortcut entices teens to the point that they overlook their safety in order to avoid taking the long way.

Daniel Letherman said, “I live right across the freeway… and this is the fastest way unless you go all the way around. There’s no other way to get to the mall.”

Brandon Lee, Washington State Patrol said, “Running across four to five lanes, on-off ramps, it’s just not safe, especially at night, it’s really deceiving how fast people are going”.
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May 20, 2009

Washington I-5 Rollover Injures Two

By Kirk Bernard

Just after 4 p.m. Monday, an SUV rolled after hitting the cement median barrier on I-5. The accident happened in the northbound lane in Chehalis.

At Bernard Law Group, we handle personal injury lawsuits that are the results of auto accidents in Washington State every day. Call our attorneys at 1-800-418-8282. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

One of the two occupants in the vehicle, a male passenger, was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with serious injuries. The man’s arm appeared to be severely fractured, said State Trooper Neil Weaver.

May 18, 2009

Crash on Highway 167 Leaves One Woman Killed, 2 People Injured

By Kirk Bernard

Last Thursday, in an accident on River Road in Puyallup, one woman died, and a girl and a man were injured. The accident involved four cars and one of the vehicles was actually torn in two.

At Bernard Law Group, we handle personal injury lawsuits that are the results of auto accidents in Washington State every day. Call our attorneys at 1-800-418-8282. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

According to the Washington State Patrol, the 19 year old driver of the vehicle, a woman from Tacoma, died at the scene. She was the driver of a black 1987 Mercedes that was northbound on Highway 167 near Gay Road just after 5 a.m.

May 13, 2009

Washington SUV Auto Accident Kills Boy

By Kirk Bernard

Monday afternoon, just east of Gold Bar, a 5-year-old boy died in a vehicle crash.

At Bernard Law Group, we handle personal injury lawsuits that are the results of auto accidents in Washington State every day. Call our attorneys at 1-800-418-8282. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

According to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s office, the Dodge Durango SUV he was riding in veered off the road in the 44000 block of Fir Road and struck a tree.